A cobpohation



Jan. 10, 1928. 1,655,760

H. F. DELMANHORST TIMING DEVICE ts-Sheet l FiledSept. 29. 1925 Jan. 10, 1928.

H. F. DEL MAN HORST TIMING DEVICE Filed Sept. 29, 1925 5 sheets-sheet 2 Jan. 10, 1928. 1,655,760

H. F. DELMANHORST mum DEVICE Filed Sept. 29 1925 5 SheecS-ShQQt 3 HTTORNEY.

lm/ENR. 1

Jan. 10, 1928.

5 Sheets-Sheet 4 v INVENTOR flamwmm Filed Sept. 29. 1925 H. F. DELMANHC DRST TIMING DEVICE my a Patented Jan. 10, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OF-FICZE.

HERMAN F. DELMANHOR ST, OF LOUISVILLE, I ZEN'IUCKY, ASSIGNOR TO SIGNAL AUTO- MATIC COMPANY, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, A CORPORATION.

TIMING DEVICE.

Application filed September 29, 1925. Serial No. 59,326.

My invention belongs to that class of timing devices which are employed in automatically operating Varicolored lights, at street crossings, at given points, at railroad crossings, and at any place or points at which signals are employed, operated or flashed at predetermined, and at definite times.

For example, I have nowon file in the United States Patent Office an application for letters for improvements in signaling devices as Serial No. 43,914. In this signaling device, which may be employed at street intersections and for traflic regulation, I use three colored lights, green, red, and yellow; .the green as a signal to go ahead, the red to stop, and the yellow a neutral, being a notice to clear the crossing and get ready for change of direction of traffic as indicated by the red or green signal. These lights are and must be placed in view at certain definite and predetermined times. My present device is set to operate these lights by being electrically connected therewith, and it automatically turns them on and off at the times desired,

and when set in motion will continue to operate until stopped by human agency.

It may be connected to time the operation of any other apparatus, or other lighting system.

One of the salient features consists in the 1 use of an oscillating pendulum which oscillates to perform its work, the weight always swinging it back to normal. Another feature consists in novel means for operating the pendulum, which consists of an electromagnet placed within the pendulum and actuated by means connected to the penduing device,

Fig. 2, is a-plan view thereof, F g. 3, ls an end View, partly broken away, Flg. 4, 1s a part view of the opposite end, showing construction of ratchet and Y pawl mechanism usedby me,

Fig. 5, is a section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 6, is a section taken on line 66 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 7, is a section taken on line 77 of parts shown in Fig. 6, and

Fig. 8, is a side view of the adjusting plate used by me in connection with the mercury switch used in connection with the oscillating pendulum or drum.

The device is supported on the base 1, of any suitable form, having at one end the support 2, in which I provide a bearing 3, in which I mount a tubularshaft 4, secured therein by'lock washer and nut 5. On this shaft 4, I also mount the ball bearings 6, which in turn are mounted in the oscillating pendulum 7 the shaft being held rigidly, the said pendulum can oscillate freely on said ball bearings 6. On the shaft 4 I securely mount an electromagnet composed of the core 9 and the coils 8 and having the pole ends 10. Onthe base 1,I also provide a bracket 12, having an extending arm or support 13, which has the bearing 14, in which I mount a stud shaft 15; this stud shaft has pivotally mounted thereon an arm 16, having at its one end bearing 17 and at its opposite end clevis or fork 18, having a slot 19, which engages a roller 20. This roller is mounted on a pin 21, which is securel mounted in one of the adjusting holes 22 o the adjusting plate 23. This plate is held firmly against one side of the pendulum 7.

On the arm 16 I pivotally mount a pawl 24, which engages the teeth 25 of the ratchet wheel 26 and a spring 27 holds the pawl 24 in engagement. This ratchet wheel 26 is also mounted on the shaft 15, being loosely mounted thereon. The shaft 15 is held securely in bearing 14 by a lock washer, and nut 28.

Gn pin 21, I securely mount a U-shaped oke 29, made of fibre or other'non-conducting material, and held securely thereon by the nut 30. This yoke carries the brackets 31, which carry a mercury switch 32, normally in such position that the circuit is closed. Y

On the U yoke 29, Ialso mount terminals 33, which contact with the terminals 34; these terminals 34 are supported by the arms 35, which are mounted on a base 36, which in turn is mounted on the base 1.

Electric current is supplied through the wires 37 and the'arms 35 to the terminals 34, a frictional contact is made to the terminals 33, at points 38, which is carried through arms 39 to the wires 40, which connect to the mercury switch 32 at the points 41.

I will now state that wires 42, which pass through the openings 43 of the tubular shaft 4, connect with the coils 8 of the magnet 11, inside the oscillating pendulum or drum 7.

l The magnet 11 is fixed on the shaft 4, and as the current is applied to the coils 8 the magnet 11 is energized and the'pole ends 10 of the magnet 11 attract the pole ends 44 of the pendulum 7, causing the pendulum to oscillate, and the mercury switch 32 connected theretoby the yoke 29, pin 21 and plate 23, is caused to tilt to a position whereby the circuit is broken thus de-energizing the electromagnet 11 and allowing the pendulum 7 to swin back to its normal position by reason of t e weight 45 in said pendulum.

As this system of energizing and de-energizing continues, the pendulum oscillates back and forth in repeated operations. These repeated operations cause an upward and downward motion of arm 16, causing the pawl 24 to carrying on its upward stroke, the ratchet 26 to a predetermined position, which predetermined position is accomplished by lacing the pin 21 in one of the holes 22 o the plate23, which it will be seen gives a greater or less motion or sweep to the arm 16. In order to maintain the position of the ratchet just described, I employ a hook pawl 46 and a pawl 47, which, it will be seen from the view shown in Fig. 5, operates on a half'tooth adjustment; the hook .pawl 46 being of the gravity type, while the pawl 47 is held in engagement by a spring 48, mounted on the bracket 49, which in turn is mounted on the arm 13 of the bracket 12.

4 The bracket 49, has a bearing 50 which carries the pin 51, on which I pivotally mount the pawls 46 and 47. On the ratchet 26 I securely fasten the pinsor studs 52 53, 54, 55, 56, and 57. At

the outmost extremity of the pins or studs 52 and 53, I mount a cam 58 having a nose 59, and on the stubs 55 and 56, at their outmost extremity, I mount the cam 60 having nose 61; a cam 62 is mounted on the pins 52, 56, and 57, which are spaced apart from the cams 58 and 60 by the spacers 63,64, 74,

' 75 and 76; the cam 62 is curvilinear in shape as shown in Fig. 1, and has the nose 65; the cam 66 carries the noses 67 and is mounted on the pins 53, 54, and 55, and is held in E- proper position by'the spacers 69, 70, 71, 72

and 73. -At this point I will state that the bracket 12 carries a bearing 75 in which I securely mount a shaft '7 6.

Pivotally mounted on this shaft 76 are the levers 77, 78 and 79. At the lower extremities ofthese levers, I mount theauxiliary brackets 80, 81 and 82, which carry the mercury switches 83, 84 and 85, respectively. Ihe levers 77 78, and 79, have the weighted arms 86, 87 and 88, made integral with said levers. These levers also have forward extensions 89, 90, and 91, which carry the rollers 92, 93, and 94, respectively. A supporting arm 95 is mounted in a boss 96 of the bracket 12, which limits the Weighted arms 86, 87, and. 88, in their downward movement, to their lowest position, and acts as a stop therefor.

As the ratchet 26 revolves or turns, the cam revolves or turns with it, until the nose 61 engages the roller 92, pressing it downwardly, and causing the mercury switches 83, to tilt or spring upwardly, which causes the contact through the wires 97, which contact is maintained until the cam nose 61 passes through the path of travel or interceptance with the roller 92; at which time the weighted arm 86 falling down, causes the mercury switches to break the contact. In like manner cam 58 is passing through its path of travel by its cam nose 59 engaging same roller 92, gives a repeated action as just described bycams 60. These cams 58 and 60are'the short interval cams for the signal lights which will be more fully described hereafter. The nose-6570f the cam 62, which also revolves with the ratchet 26, .engages the roller 93; this causes the mercury switches 84 to tilt or swing upwardly, thereby closing the circuit through the wires 98, which contact is maintained until the cam has passed through its path of travel. when the said roller 93 passes off the face of cam 62, and the weighted arm'87 falling, caused the mercury .switch 84 to return to its lowest position, thereby breaking the circuit. This cam acting through a longer period, allows the signal light to be illuminated a greater length of time, as will be referred' to hereafter.

Cam 66, being mounted on the ratchet 26, turns with it and in passing through its path of travel, its nose 67 engages roller 94, which causes mercury switch to tilt or sweep upwardly thereby closing the contact through the wires 99 which contact is maintained until the cam 66 has passed through its limit of travel, under the roller 94 which allows the mercury switch 85 to return to its low position by reason of the weighted arm 88 dropping, thereby breaking its circuit.

In further carrying out my invention. I provide the feed wires 100 and 101 which enterthefuse block 102, said block carrying Ill) fuses 103; after which the wires 100 and 101 enter the main switch 104, carrying the button 105. The wire 100 after leaving switch104 connects with the switch 106 having button 107, after which it enters to ter-' minal 108, the wires having been previously called 37 at this point for convenience; said wire 100 then continues from terminal 109 and is connected to a terminal 110, after which it passes through the hollow shaft 4 and is connected to the terminal 112; on a plate 113 secured to brackets 2, it now continues from said terminal 112 and enters the fuse block 102 and continues out to its beginning, at which point it is marked 101; one of said wires being positive and the other negative.

In Fig. 2, I show the wires 114 and 115, the wire 114 connected to the fuse block 102 and passes therefrom and is connected to the switch 104; leaving this switch connects to the multiple terminals 116. The wire 115 also passes from fuse block 102 and connects with the terminal 119. These two wires 114 and 115 form the positive and negative connections to supply current to the said terminals 116, and are connected together by the conductor plate 118.

In operation, my device is connected to the various circuits as follows: The lead wires from the source of supply are connected to the lead wires 100 and 101 of the device at the fuse block 102, thence through the switch 104 which is a master switch both for operation of the mechanism and for the varicolored lights operated thereby, a connection through a switch 106 serves to control the operating mechanism.

The pendulum 7 is oscillated and through the pawl and ratchet mechanism the cams 58,

60, 62, and 66 are rotated upon the shaft 15 I and by their contacting with the rollers 92,

98, and 94 on levers .77, '78, and 79, rocking the levers on the shaft'76, thus tilting the mercury switches one after another to a position in which their circuit is closed, thus illuminating the light to be flashed and connected therewith, the timing being so arranged that as one light goes out another comes on in the position shown in Fig. 1,

the circuit operated by cam 66 is illuminated,

which circuit would be made by connecting the light (say red) to the terminal 99 and the terminal 119, these two being one positive and the other negative, and as cam 66 continues to revolve in the direction of'the arrow, the roller 94 drops into the low part of the cam just as the nose 61 of the cam contacts with roller 92 depressing the roller 92 and tilting mercury switch 83, closing its circuit (yel ow), the light being connected to the terminals 119 and 97 and as this cam 60 passes roller 92, the nose 65 of cam 62 contacts with roller 93 and actuates the lever carrying mercury switch 84 whichas it is tilted closes its circuit (green the light being connected to the termina 119 and 98,which is again followed by (yel low), a repetition of the action of mercury switch 83 actuated this time by cam 58, each lever as it is released by the cam surface passing the point of contact drops to the position of lever 77, Fig. 1, causing that particular circuit to be broken and any lamps in'the said circuit to cease to burn.

l/Vhile I show and describe a preferred form, I do not confine myself to the specific construction here shown.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a timing device of the character described, a horizontal shaft, a stationary electromagnet mounted on the shaft and having oppositely extending poles offset to a vertical line drawn through the shaft, an oscillatable drum shaped pendulum mounted on the shaft and encircling said magnet, said pendulum having diametrically opposite v poles adapted to be attracted by the poles of the magnet for moving the pendulum in one direction, a switch fixed to the pendulum, and arranged to oscillate with the latter, and an electric circuit in which the switch and magnet are interposed, whereby the switch, in one position of the pendulum, acts to interrupt the circuit through the magnet.

2. In a timing device of the character described, a stationary horizontal shaft, an electromagnet fixed on the shaft and having oppositely extending poles oflset to a vertical line drawn through the shaft, an oscillatable drum shaped pendulum mounted on the shaft and having diametrically opposite poles adapted to cooperate with the poles of the magnet for moving the pendulum in one direction, a switch fixed to the pendulum, and an electric circuit in which the magnet and switch are interposed whereby the pendulum in oscillating, will cause the switch to intermittently interrupt the circuit in which the switch, contacts and magnet are interposed, whereby, as the pendulum oscillates, the circuit through the magnet will be intermittently interrupted.

4.. In a timing device of the character described, an oscillatable pendulum, electri- T cally operated means for causing the pendulum to oscillate, a plate fixed to the pendulum and arranged at its axis of oscillation, said plate having a plurality of apertures arranged at varying distances from said axis, a pin/adapted to occupy either one of said apertures, a lever adapted to be rocked by said vpin, a pawl mounted on the lever, a ratchet wheel actuatedby the pawl, switch operating cams movable with the ratchet wheel, and switches actuated by said cams.

5. In a timing device of the character de scribed, rotatable cams arranged side by of the cams to be actuated by the latter, a

supporting rod, Weights on the levers for normally movlng the same into contact with the supporting rod, and a mercury switch' carried by each lever and adapted to actuate when the lever is oscillated by its respective cam.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature at Louisville, Kentucky, this 15th day of September, 1925.

HERMAN F. DELMANHORST. 

